In 2014 he told Argentina’s Tyc Sports: ‘I gave my opponents a big advantage due to my illness. Do you know the player I could have been if I hadn’t taken drugs?’

‘I am 53 going on 78 because my life hasn’t been normal. I’ve lived 80 [years] with the life I’ve gone through.’

Maradona and his ‘Hand of God’ in 1986 (Picture: Getty Images)

Maradona’s first serious punishments over his drug use came in 1991 when he was banned for 15 months by Napoli for testing positive for cocaine – this lasted from April 1991 – June 1992.

Later in the same year he was arrested in Buenos Aires for possessing half-kilo of cocaine and was given a 14-month suspended sentence.

After his ban from football he left Italy and did not return to the country for years. Italian authorities ordered him to pay £32m in unpaid taxes in 2005, something he is still yet to pay off, saying he doesn’t owe ‘anything to anyone’.

Diego Maradona is removed by police from a Buenos Aires apartment, 26 April 1991, after being arrested for possession of half-kilo of cocaine (Picture: Getty Images)

Maradona was back in the Argentina team for the 1994 World Cup in America, scoring a cracking goal against Greece in the group stage, leading to a wild celebration into a camera lens.

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However, his tournament came to an end before the end of the group stage when he was expelled for testing positive for five variants of ephedrine, a banned substance.

It was a decision made by the Argentine FA before FIFA could step in, although FIFA went on to ban Maradona for 15 months, ending his international career.

‘They have retired me from soccer. I don’t think I want another revenge, my soul is broken,’ Maradona told Channel 13 after his expulsion.

However, Maradona has long been thought to have stopped taking drugs, telling Tuttonapoli in 2017: ‘For 13 years, I haven’t taken anything and I feel great.’

Diego does still drink alcohol, though, as has been demonstrated by recent videos of him drinking tequila on a plane and stating that he ‘drank all the wine’ ahead of Argentina’s win over Nigeria at the World Cup.